University Phone:   Faculty Secretary Contact)  (416) 736 – 2100 X 22207

Office:                        TBA [E-mail is the best method of contact]

Office Hours:           By Appointment Only: TBA at 647 967 1930

COURSE DIRECTOR: JAI Y CHETRAM

TIME AND DAY: THIS IS A FULLY ONLINE COURSE, (ASYNCHRONOUS, YOU CAN ACCESS THE COURSE MATERIALS ANYTIME OF THE DAY/WEEK.) HOWEVER, THE FIRST TEST WILL BE WRITTEN ON CAMPUS. YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED OF THE DATE FIRST WEEK IN SEPTEMBER. ALL OTHER TESTS AND ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE WRITTEN AND SUBMITTED ONLINE.) THE FIRST TEST WILL BE SCHEDULED END OF OCTOBER OR BEGINNING OF NOVEMBER.)

EMAIL: jaichetr@yorku.ca

Contact information: jaichetr@yorku.ca.

Mobile# 647 967 1930

Virtual Office hours via Zoom: Tuesday between 5:30PM-6:30PM, by appointment only. 

Engel, S. Morris.  With Good Reason: An Introduction to Informal Fallacies.  Sixth Edition.  New York: Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2000.

1. Fallacy Test = 25% (Written on Campus either the last Wednesday of October or first Wednesday in November.)
2. Conceptual Analysis = 25% (Online.)
3. Passage Analysis Test = 20% (Online.)
4. Article Analysis Assignment = 15% (Online.)
5. Homework = 10% (Online.)
6. Presentation = 5% (Online.)

TIME AND DAY: THIS IS A FULLY ONLINE COURSE, (ASYNCHRONOUS, YOU CAN ACCESS THE COURSE MATERIALS ANYTIME OF THE DAY/WEEK.) HOWEVER, THE FIRST TEST WILL BE WRITTEN ON CAMPUS. YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED OF THE DATE FIRST WEEK IN SEPTEMBER. ALL OTHER TESTS AND ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE WRITTEN AND SUBMITTED ONLINE.) THE FIRST TEST WILL BE SCHEDULED END OF OCTOBER OR BEGINNING OF NOVEMBER.)

This course is divided into 3 modules. You should begin the course in Module 1, (Argument and Argumentation,) and complete it before moving onto the next module, Conceptual Analysis, then Passage/Article Analysis. The modules have been organized in sequential order, so that you build X skills and enhance X knowledges as you move from one module to the next. While you can complete the modules at your own pace, a suggested timeline for completing the course has been provided in the schedule of readings and activities.

For each module, there is a series of assigned readings that must be completed. To help you make sense of the assigned texts, each text is accompanied by [a brief podcast or video lecture/ or narrated PowerPoint presentation/notes] as well as by a set of guided reading questions.
I encourage you to begin each module by first attempting to read the assigned text by yourself. Afterwards, please listen/watch/read the accompanying [podcast/video lecture/notes/narrated PowerPoint presentations].
·      The next step is to answer the guided research questions. The guided reading questions will orient your focus to the major [themes/arguments/concepts/theoretical frameworks/ideas] in the assigned reading. [Explain how addressing the questions might be tied to assessment, whether as a point of discussion/participation on a message forum, or as a starting point for the course’s written assignments/tests.]
You will have until the end of each module to complete and submit all work [assignments/tests] for that module. You are encouraged to submit your assignments before the final due dates listed in the schedule of readings

• Reading Comprehension
• Active reading; deconstructing others’ ideas; reading between the lines
• Critical Thinking Skills
• Critically evaluating what we hear and read; rational decision –making; presenting strong arguments; being aware of cognitive and illegitimate biases (self-bias and others’ bias.)
• Awareness of Persuasion Techniques
• Recognizing manipulative persuasion; developing persuasive tactics, ethically.
• Personal Development discourse
• hone the disposition of a competent layperson (the abiliy to engage in civil discourse
• , even if one isn’t an “expert on the topic; clarity and confidence when presenting views.
• Writing Skills
• Improve general writing skills (grammar, writing style, thesis development, etc.); essay organization; writing persuasively; improving self-editing techniques.

(1) How to reason correctly by distinguishing valid and invalid arguments, (Deductive,) to distinguish strong and weak arguments, (Inductive.)

 (2) How to identify fallacies or errors in reasoning committed in everyday discourse.

(3) How to use concepts properly, to distinguish conceptual claims from empirical and normative claims. To separate empirical facts from conceptual meanings and analyzing conceptual questions.

(4) How to apply critical skills to passages and articles that committed errors in reasoning, vague and ambiguous expressions and to diagnose assumptions that underpins concepts and statements. These skills will be applied to passages/articles concerning issues in Social Science, Humanities, Philosophy, Political Science and Religion.